The Truth Will Set You Free

If you are reading this, I think it’s probably safe to assume that on some level you care about what you eat. After all, this is a food blog, and you aren’t here looking for parenting advice or fashion tips. Actually, I don’t really know why you are here, but that’s a whole different topic.

I’m the primary food shopper in our family, and I’m a label reader.

Reading labels is a pain in the ass, especially if you have children in tow. Sometimes it just cannot effectively be done, regardless of the Nutrition Facts’ simple, clear and standardized design. But I think it is important to know what is in the food I’m buying and feeding to my kids.

The successful dynamics of a free market depend on the consumer’s ability to make informed decisions. This is one of the reasons that Trans Fats were added to the Nutrition Facts. Not long after that, trans fats seemed to disappear from a surprising number of packaged foods.

But food labels don’t give you the full story.

Before I continue, I want to make sure you know something. I’m watching you. I’m watching how many of you made the jump to the rest of this story, and I’m watching what links you click on in the post.

Now I can’t tell who is doing what. I’m only looking at aggregates, so your privacy is still intact. But in a little while, I’m going to ask for you to help me with something, that requires very little on your part. And I’m hoping to see as much fire as you demonstrated for the Empire State of Mind Cocktail a few weeks back.

Food labels in the U.S. contain no information about GMOs.

Surprisingly, Mrs. Fussy has fewer qualms than I do with scientists mucking around with nature and the environment to create patentable forms of life. I’m not convinced that these feats of modern science aren’t at least partially responsible for the problems being experienced by the bees. And I’m fairly convinced, given the history of science and innovation, that there will be unforeseen consequences to our reliance on these bioengineered crops.

Maybe your own beliefs are closer to Mrs. Fussy’s. Maybe you are in my camp. But regardless of your concern about the safety of GMOs, I find it hard to argue against the notion that products that include genetically altered ingredients be labeled as such.

They label GMOs in the E.U. They are labeled in Australia and New Zealand. Even Russia and China are on board. But not the U.S. Which isn’t to say labeling isn’t desired domestically. One group which is supporting this initiative is saying:

A recent poll released by ABC News found that 93 percent of the American public wants the federal government to require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. As ABC News stated, “Such near-unanimity in public opinion is rare.”

In truth, the poll to which they refer isn’t quite so recent. That would be from June 2001, just a year after the GMO Starlink corn fiasco. But it’s a great number for rhetorical purposes. However, I cannot help but feel the country is more divided now than ever on the subject of government regulation.

The thing is I’m not arguing for regulation. I just want transparency.

More recently there was a 2008 CBS News/New York Times poll that supports the same sentiment. It found, “87% of consumers would like GMO ingredients to be labeled.” Although there is even a more recent poll that supports the 93% number, conducted in 2010 on behalf of NPR.

Food producers are dragging their feet because they suspect labeling will be the kiss of death for all these patented plants. Although that might be overly dramatic. GMOs are here to stay, and labeling will simply cut into profits, as some fraction of shoppers shy away from these newly discovered bioengineered foods.

But maybe if producers are compelled to label their products, they might push companies like Monsanto to publish more compelling research into the safety of GMOs. Although I suppose it’s more likely that they will spend their money on an advertising campaign to make it seem as right as rain. Not that I’m cynical or anything. I’ve just seen it done before.

The only way we’ll know is if we push for labeling. And that’s what I’m asking for your help with today.

All you do is click here, enter your name, state, zip code and email. Then click submit. It should take seconds, unless you are reading this on a mobile device or accessing the web over a dial-up connection. If you wanted to do even more, send this call to action along to all your friends. There are some convenient buttons located beneath this post to help you in that regard.

Now I’m watching you. And for everyone that doesn’t click through, I’m expecting to read a comment about why you think labeling GMOs on food packaging isn’t worth five more seconds of your time.

Please support this initiative. It’s important. And frankly it’s ridiculous that our government is reluctant to put this into play on its own. I guess the big food lobby is more compelling than the 87-93%.